Handan Kabba of Boca Raton, Florida Arrested After Hit-and-Run DUI Involving Two Children

Handan Kabba of suburban Boca Raton, Florida is accused of crashing her car into another vehicle while under the influence and then leaving the scene of the accident. There were two kids in the back seat of her vehicle at the time of the crash, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. It is unclear if anyone was injured.

Kabba, 32, is being charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, and child neglect. She was taken to Palm Beach County Jail and was released on September 30 on $6,000 bond. The press did not name an attorney for her.

According to the arrest report, the alleged hit-and-run crash occurred just after 10:30 p.m. on September 29 near the intersection of State Road 7 and Boynton Beach Boulevard. Kabba, who was reportedly driving a red Nissan Altima, rear-ended a vehicle and then fled south on State Road 7.

Deputies eventually found a Nissan Altima with front-end damage parked on the side of the road. Kabba was behind the wheel with two boys, aged 11 and 7, in the back seat. Kabba’s relationship with the children is unclear.

The deputy who questioned Kabba reported observing classic signs of intoxication, including glassy eyes, slurred speech, and an alcoholic odor. Kabba told the deputy that she was waiting for someone to come get her and the children, sources say.

Kabba later submitted to two Breathalyzer tests and the results showed that her blood-alcohol level was 0.150 and 0.146 respectively, the report said. Both readings are almost double the legal intoxication limit of 0.08.

Florida has some of the toughest DUI laws in the country because of all the deaths that have been caused by DUI accidents. Police are required to use a zero tolerance standard when enforcing those laws, and as a result, the state prosecutes an enormous number of DUI cases every year.

Hit-and-runs are also a bit problem in Florida. Statistics from the Florida Highway Patrol show that the number of hit-and-run accidents in South Florida has steadily increased every year over the past decade. The numbers went up from 72,000 in 2012 to just over 99,000 in 2016. Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties have the highest number of hit-and-run crashes in the region.

“I know hit-and-runs continue to be a problem,” FHP spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky. “Unfortunately they continue to go up from previous years.”

Earlier this year, the Florida Highway Patrol launched a “Stay At The Scene” campaign to encourage drivers to remain at the scene of the crash, but it’s still too soon to tell if it had any effect. Drivers flee the scene for several reasons. Sometimes it’s because they don’t have insurance or their driver’s license is suspended, or they may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In many cases, the driver responsible for the accident is not at fault and would face few or no penalties if they stayed at the scene; it is only the escape attempt that results in charges in these instances.